Amish Prayers

by Beverly Lewis

Review:The material here is newly translated, the author tells us, from the 1708 edition of Die Ernsthafte Christenpflicht. The drawings which accompany the text (taken from photographs?) help to create an atmosphere which brings the reader into the Amish world, however superficially. The prayers themselves often seem to be an expanded ‘collect’ form, or perhaps ‘preface’ would be a better description, since God is praised and thanked for his work in creation, and then the individual appropriates the lessons of God’s work for him/herself. Action should then follow..…